Cartridge case ejection device for automatic firearms



F. LINDER Oct. 9, 1956 CARTRIDGE CASE EJECTIQN DEVICE FOR AUTOMATIC FIREARMS Filed Oct. 3, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I nvsurok: Friedrich Linc/ar- ATTOILN EMS F. LINDER Oct. 9, 1956 CARTRIDGE CASE EJECTION DEVICE FOR AUTOMATIC FIREARMS Filed Oct. 5, 1950 a 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Y 7 INVENTOR:. Friedrich Lin der Bu GLMJ M ATTO KN E55 CARTRIDGE CASE EJECTION DEVICE FOR AUTOMATIC FIREARMS Friedrich Linder, Zurich, Switzerland, assignor to Machine Tool Works Oerlikon, Administration Company, Zurich-Oerlikon, Switzerland, a company of Switzerland Application October 3, 1950, Serial No. 188,170

1 Claim. (Cl. 42-25) In known automatic firearms with breech block recoiling along the guns axis ejection of empty cartridge cases is effected in the following way. The empty cartridge case is pulled out of the chamber by a breech block part and, during the recoil of the breech block, impacts on a nose of the breech casing. This arrangement has the disadvantage that the empty case strikes asymmetrically against the ejector nose and therefore keeps turning over When it is ejected from the gun. The direction of ejection thereby varies between wide limits. Therefore cartridge case chutes must be made with rather large cross sections. Another disadvantage of this ejection system resides in the fact that ejection of the cartridge can commence only comparatively late since the ejection nose must be arranged at the rear end of the cartridge inlet of the breech casing.

The ejection device according to the present invention avoids these drawbacks by making it possible to eject the case in a translational movement of determined direction whereby the ejection can already begin even before the front part of the breech block has reached the rear end of the cartridge inlet of the breech casing.

The ejection device according to the present invention comprises a breech casing, a breech block longitudinally movable therein, a movable part arranged on said breech block and fitted for engaging the extractor groove of the cartridge case, said part being controlled during movement of the breech block by fixed cams.

The Figs. 1 to 10 of the attached drawing show some representative constructional examples of the subject of the present invention.

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of the breech casing of an automatic gun designed in accordance with the present invention, the breech block being in its front position;

Fig. 2 is a similar longitudinal section, showing the breech block during its rearward motion;

Fig. 3 is a similar longitudinal section with the breech block shown in the rear reversal position;

Fig. 4 is a section along the line 1V-lV in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the extractor;

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section of a second constructional example;

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section of a third constructional example drawn to a larger scale;

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section of the example shown in Fig. 7, the breech block being at its foremost position;

Fig. 9 is a longitudinal section with the breech block during it rearward motion;

Fig. 10 is a longitudinal section with the breech block in the rearmost position.

In Figs. 1 to 3 the barrel is designated by Lthe breech casing by 2 and the breech block by 3. The breech block 3 is arranged axially movable inside the breech casing 2. It slides on the surfaces 4 and 5 and is subjected to the action of the recuperator spring 6. During firing of a cartridge the breech block 3 is locked by means which are known and have therefore been omitted from the drawing.

2,765,560 Patented Oct. 9, 1956 ice The firing mechanism which is also of known design is only represented by the striker pin 7. The cartridges are fed into the gun through the feed duct '8 arranged upon the breech casing.

On the front face of the breech block 3 the extractor 9 is arranged. The extractor 9 in the "form of an apertured plate sliding in two grooves is movable transversally to the guns axis. The transversal movement of the extractor 9 is limited by a pin 14 engaging with a milled portion 15 of the extractor (cf. Fig. 5). The extractor 9 is fitted with a segment shaped part 11 for engaging the extractor groove of the cartridge cases and has on its sides oblique faces 12, 13. During the backwards movement of the breech block 3 the two oblique faces 12 at the upper part of the extractor 9 hit against cams or stops 16 arranged in the breech casing 2. Thereby the extractor 9 is moved into its lower position and retained there by its shoulder faces 1-7 sliding along the guide faces 4 (cf. Fig. 4). During the last part of the breech blocks forward run the lower oblique faces 13 of the extractor hit against cams or stops 18 of the breech casing 2 and push the extractor back into its upper position. The leaf spring 19 arranged inside the breech block 3 tends to move the extractor downwards thereby bringing the part 11 of the extractor in engagement with the groove of the cartridge case 2.

The operation of the device is as follows:

During firing of a round the extractor 9 engages with its part 11 a groove of the cartridge in the chamber and is held in this position by the leaf spring 19. After unlocking the breech block 3 starts in its rearward movement. During this rearward movement the empty cartridge case is pulled out of the cartridge chamber of the barrel 1. After the breech block has moved through part of its rearward travel the upper oblique faces 12 of the extractor hit against the stops 1'6 and move the extractor into its lower position. By this movement the empty cartridge case is given a certain downward velocity which together with the velocity component which corresponds to, the momentary breech block velocity causes the case to be ejected to the rear along the oblique path without overturning. The breech block 3 then continues its-rearward movement whereby the extractor is kept in its lower position by the shoulder faces 17 sliding on the guide faces 4 of the breech casing.

During the forward movement of the breech block the extractor 9 removes with its upper part the lowermost cartridge from the belt link and pushes it into the cartridge chamber. After passing the stops 16 the extractor 9 is free to move upwards. However, it remains in its lower position until its oblique faces 13 hit against the stops 18 and move the extractor into its upper position. As soon as the cartridge "has reached its firing position in the cartridge chamber the extractor 9 is lifted against the action of the leaf spring 19 by the oblique face 20 of the part 11 sliding on the rear edge of the cart-ridge case. When the breech block has reached its foremost position the part 11 of the extractor engages with the extractor groove of the cartridge case. Thereupon the same sequence. of operation is repeated.

In the constructional example shown in Fig. 6 the barrel is again designated by 1, the breech casing by 2 and the breech block by 3. The breech block carries the twoarmed lever 21 which is rotatably disposed on the pin 22. On its front end the lever 21 carries a part 23 for engagement with the extractor groove of the'cartridge case. The two noses 24 and 25 of the lever 21 serve for engagement with the faces 26, 27 and 30 of the breech casing. The lever 21 is subjected to the action of the spring 28.

The operation of this constructional example is as follows:

When the breech block is in its foremost position the part 23 of the lever 21 is in engagement with the extractor groove of the cartridge case shown in Fig. 6. At the same time the nose 25 rests against the face 30 of the breech casing 2. During the first part of the breech blocks rearward movement the empty cartridge case is pulled out of the cartridge chamber by the part 23 of the lever 21. The lever 21 remains in its position until the nose 24 hits upon the stop 26. At this moment the nose 25 has already slid off the face 30 thus permitting the lever 21 to rotate anti-clockwise. By this rotation of the lever 21 the cartridge case is given a downward velocity which, together with the recoil velocity of the breech block, causes the cartridge case to be thrown out of the gun along an oblique path to the rear. After rotation the lever 21 is held in its new position during the whole recoil of the breech block by the spring 28. During the forward motion of the breech block the nose 25 hits against the face 27 of the breech casing 2 and rotates the lever 21 back into its initial position. The lever 21 is then held in this position by the nose 25 resting against the face 30.

During its forward movement the breech block pushes a new cartridge into the cartridge chamber. During the last part of the forward movement of the breech block the part 23 of the lever 21 runs onto the rear edge of the cartridge with the oblique face 31. The lever 21 is then lifted and afterwards brought in engagement with the extractor groove of the cartridge case by means of the spring 28. After firing of the cartridge the same sequence of operation is repeated.

In the constructional example shown in Figs. 7 to the breech block 3 carries the lever 32 which is rotatable about the pin 33. Again the lever 32 is fitted with a part 34 for engaging the extractor groove of the cartridge case. The nose 35 of the lever 32 is provided for engagement with the control surfaces 37, 38 and 39 of the breech casing. The lever 32 is subjected to the action of the springs 40 and 41. The spring 41 is stronger than the spring 40. Its travel is limited by the pin 42 engaging with a cut out part of the plunger 43.

The operation of this example is as follows (of. Figs. 8- 10).

When the breech block is in its foremost position the part 34 of the lever 32 is kept in engagement with the extractor groove of the cartridge case by means of the spring 41. During the breech blocks rearward movement the nose 35 of the lever 32 impacts against the face 37 of the breech casing 2, thus rotating the lever 32 anticlockwise. Thereby the cartridge case is ejected downwards and to the rear. In the new position of the lever 32 the spring 41, the travel of which is limited by the pin 42, is no more operative (Fig. 9). After the nose 45 of the lever 32 has slid off the face 38 of the breech casing during the further recoil of the breech block, the lever 32 is rotated clockwise by the spring 40 until the nose 35 contacts the bottom of the cartridge in the ammunition inlet duct. When the nose 35 has passed the rear end of the cartridge the lever is further rotated by the spring 40. Thus the levers face 45 at the beginning of breech blocks forward movement engages with the bottom of the cartridge to be introduced into the chamber pushing it forward. When the nose 35 of the lever 32 impacts on the face 39 the lever 32 is rotated anti-clockwise and released as soon as the nose 35 has passed the face 38 of the breech casing. During the last part of the breech blocks forward movement the oblique face 44 of the lever runs onto the rear edge of the cartridge. The part 34 of the lever 32 is then brought into engagement with the extractor groove of the cartridge. After firing the cartridge the described sequence is repeated.

In this constructional example it is possible to make the distance between the lowermost cartridge into the cartridge duct and the barrel axis larger than Would be possible with a conventional breech block.

The described examples are, of course, only some of the many possibilities for practical realisation of the inventive thought. An important advantage of the present invention resides in the fact that the operation of removing the cartridge case which with conventional guns is usually accomplished by means of two parts can here be done with one part only.

I claim:

A cartridge ejecting device for an automatic firearm having a barrel, a breech casing comprising two parallel walls extending in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the firearm, a duct for the cartridge extending transversely to said axis and having formed therein an opening for the passage of the cartridges in this space between said walls, a breech block having a supporting surface extending transversely to said axis for the bottom of a cartridge casing which is provided with a groove, said breech block being reciprocable in said casing in the direction of said axis between a forward end position and a rear end position and being guided between said walls, a slide guided between said walls and movable along said supporting surface, said slide having formed therein a slot extending parallel to said walls for the guiding of a cartridge casing, said slide comprising a grip which is adapted to engage into said cartridge groove, said grip having the form of an arcuate member and closing one end of said slot, said slide being movable from a normal position into two directions which are opposed to one another so as to provide in the course of a movement in one direction a shifting of said grip toward said axis and so as to provide in the course of the movement in the other direction a shifting of said grip away from said axis, a pair of stops mounted upon said casing and cooperating with said slide, one of said stops shifting said grip toward said axis during the movement of said breech block from said forward end position to said rearward end position, whereby the cartridge casing is ejected along said supporting surface, the second stop moving said slide into its normal position during a movement of the breech block from said rearward position into said forward end position, said grip having a surface upon the side closest to the barrel, said grip surface shifting said slide from said normal position in a direction in which said grip moves away from said axis after said movement of the shell into the barrel by engagement with the bottom of the cartridge casing, whereby the grip engages the groove of the cartridge casing and resilient means engaging said slide.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 830,510 Lehmann Sept. 11, 1906 953,292 Redfield Mar. 29, 1910 1,372,336 Browning Mar. 22, 1921 2,411,979 Rataiczak Dec. 3, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS 324,336 France Sept. 10, 1902 334,448 Germany Mar. 15, 1921 505,737 Great Britain May 16, 1939 531,833 Great Britain Jan. 31, 1941 899,603 France Aug. 28, 1944 572,991 Great Britain Nov. 1, 1945 

